Aloha! No, I am not suddenly in Hawaii. Thanks for asking, though. I want to go to Hawaii. Has any of you been yet?
Okay, getting a little weird now. Sorry, I'm just drunk on happiness that I got this update up faster. I had to work hard on it though. And I better get lots of reviews – long is appreciated, but short one's are cute… I aint complaining… just review and we'll leave it at that :) – for the length of this chapter. Gah.
A little, and unfortunate, note for all the 'Stuck In Between' fans, but I'm in MAJOR writers block. I'm hoping that a long two days of my friend, Anna, will cure my blockage. But I can't make any promises… Oh woe is me. I miss Sonya, Zane and Oryon from my first fic already :mourns:
The usual – Enjoy. This chapter may be a little weird, I was very tired in the moments of writing this so I can't explain things as good as I can while awake. Insanity may also ensue. I think it turned out pretty good though…
∞ Isa ∞
P.S. There is a teaser at the bottom, of one of my fave scenes to come.
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- Susannah's POV, Friday Afternoon -
I came back home the following afternoon from CeeCee's place, sleeping bag in hand and sunglasses across my eyes.
I felt good. So did my hair.
Now that it was black, I mean.
Woo! Cheers for me: I finally got it done! It looked so very cool, my eyes stood out and even looked like something OTHER than grass green. They looked deeper, happier. And I sure felt happier as well.
Unfortunately, that happiness simmered somewhat when I walked into the house. Oh, Mum, Andy and my three ultra annoying stepbrothers were there, but the absence of the other member of our family was beyond noticeable.
Yes, I am talking about the dog. Max. My heart mourns for his return, my one true love…
Uh, no. Max was there. Oh he was there alright. He made that plainly obvious when he walked into the living room, saw I was there and promptly started barking his head off.
It seemed that dogs weren't as colour-blind as I thought. Hmm.
This little event caused everyone in the house, from Mum and Andy in the kitchen to David in his bedroom – does he EVER come out of there, other than for school? Doesn't seem like it… – and even to Dopey in the garage, to suddenly burst into the living room.
Well, I got the entrance I had always wanted.
Although the reactions were kind of different to exactly what I was expecting. Oh, there was the initial shock thing, I mean sure – everyone goes through that.
Including Max.
Yet I hardly expected Andy to come up and hug me without noticing anything, since he never let Sleepy or Dopey die their hair. In my ear, he whispered, "Nice job, bought everyone down here for early dinner."
Ohhhh-kay… slow and sarcastically now, folks:
O…K…A…Y…
David cocked a single eyebrow at me and asked, a grin appearing on his face all of a sudden, "Interesting choice, Suze." I blinked. No long, boring explanations?
…Weird.
Dopey looked me up and down, "Whatever." Was all he said before exiting.
A little less weird.
But… eww. The way he stared at me for longer than five seconds before loosing interest? Definitely not Dopey.
Well, not with ME anyway.
Not saying that Dopey ISN'T an incest.
Not saying that I KNOW Dopey is an incest.
Okay, I'll shut up now.
Mum was outraged. On the plus side, I knew that she was normal, unlike everyone else in our house.
On the minus side, who would want to know that your Mum's normal when it's a possibility you could get grounded for all eternity?
Not me, that's for sure.
After taking in a few minutes of my mother yelling at me, Sleepy, the only person who hadn't joined us that evening – except for, you know… Gah! Stop thinking, Suze – stumbled down the stairs.
I'd say he was the most weirdest of all.
Now, you ask, how could my stepbrother, Sleepy, be any weirder than he already is?
Easy. Like this…
Sleepy looked at me. Or, at least, at my hair. He took a good look.
Then, as if casually, shrugged his shoulders. "Nice hair." My Mum, who had been glaring at me, suddenly stopped and looked up at him, her arms crossed over her chest.
And then, as simply as it could be put, he turned around and left.
I think we were all stunned for a moment. Sleepy actually complemented me? Woah. Kodak Moment.
No, scratch that.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH MY FAMILY?
I wasn't stunned. I was outraged at my family's weirdness.
Okay, extra weirdness.
But I, being the superior and ultra beautiful (ha, ha) being that I was, just kept all my outrage and shock from the prying eyes of my folks. And, with that, skipped up the stairs.
Okay… CUT!
Skipped? SKIPPED?
WHEN DID I START SKIPPING UP THE STAIRS?
Something MUST have been in that hair dye. I swear. Because I have never, not for ten years, at least, SKIPPED up the stairs.
Let alone in front of my family.
My badass reputation is RUINED! RUINED I TELL YOU!
Yep. Must have been the hair dye. I'll have to call CeeCee.
Oh yeah, and I can just IMAGINE the conversation…
Me – Hey, Cee, it's just me, Suze.
CC – Hi, Why are you calling?
Me – Uh. I just wanted to know if you spiked my hair dye.
CC – Uhm. No.
Me – Okay, See you.
Yeah. So I decided against the interrogation of CeeCee.
I noticed it really when I entered my room. In fact, I was just about to giggle and strike a pose, saying, "Hey, Jesse. Like my new hairdo." But I didn't.
Because Jesse wasn't there.
I shrugged it off. He'd be back, I knew, in a week. Although he still hadn't said a proper goodbye to me. I sighed and pulled off my sunglasses.
Jesse had been away for more than a week before, Father Dominic – somehow – kept him busy at the rectory. I wondered how he did it. Since I'm damn sure he didn't spend half of his time kissing him.
Not like I did.
Eww.
No, really. I just realized how wrong that sounded. Father Dom and Jesse.
My MIND is SCARRED for LIFE.
Thanks, dirty-minded brain. Such an honor to have you in my presence.
Not.
Seriously though. I didn't know what I was feeling. Oh, I knew one thing though.
I really, really missed Jesse. And he'd only been gone a day. Not even that.
I had survived without him longer, I just – just…
Didn't understand this.
My moping and weird reverie was all snapped out when Mum entered my room again. I sighed, looking out my window for comfort. "If you're here about the hair thing, I'm sorry. I just wanted to try it out," I said truthfully, "And it's only a rinse. It will come out in fifteen washes."
A hand was placed on my shoulder, "No. It's not that. Although I do wish you had asked me first," Mum replied, a small smile on her face. It was her forgiving smile. I grinned myself. It was alright between us again. Not that much had been wrong or anything…
"So," I broke the silence with my voice and turned to her, "What did you come to scold – I mean, talk to me about."
Mum's smile grew larger, she giggled as if she were sixteen again. "No. I didn't come to scold you on anything, Suzie. I came to ask you a question."
I raised my eyebrows before sitting on my window-seat. It smelt like Jesse. I grinned. Mum didn't notice the smell because Jesse didn't exist to her. But he sure did to me.
And I missed him. I didn't even care if he called me a tomato anymore, I only wanted him back. With me.
Not that he liked me in that special way or anything. Hey. A girl can always hope, can't she?
"What is it, Mum?" I asked after a moment.
Mum looked nervous, I briefly wondered why. Mum hardly got nervous around me unless she knew I didn't like the topic. "Well, Sweetie." She sighed, pausing briefly before continuing. "Do you, by any chance remember someone in your life, when you were littler?"
My eyes widened, "Is this about Dad?" Mum shook her head.
"No, Suze. It isn't. Its about… well, I don't know if you'll remember, it was just so long ago –" Mum stumbled over her words awkwardly.
"Get straight to the point, Mum!" I threw my hands up and smiled a bit. She gave me an inept one straight back before joining me on the window-seat.
"Sage." Was all she said. Now my other eyebrow rose. Sage? Who was she? I had never had someone called Sage in my life, let alone in childhood days.
I shrugged. Trying to act calm, whilst in my mind, a million questions were flying around in my head. 'Who was sage?' being the most common one. "Never heard of her."
My mum sighed again. She put her head in her hands for a moment before straightening and turning to me. "She was…how do I put this? This may come as a shock, Suzie." Her gaze intensified. "Sage, well – she was a big part in your life when you were five or so years old. I'm surprised you don't remember her but I guess its because after she went, you were in a devastating state."
"Who is Sage, Mum?"
My lips were pursed into a straight line on my face. I was all around seriousness. Something that could get Mum this nervous had to be something that would either outrage me or that deeply upset her.
"She's your twin, Suzie." I blinked. Twin? I didn't have a twin. Mum continued, biting her lip. "Sage was separated from you, from our family, when you were five. You didn't…" I could see her clench and unclench her hands apprehensively. "… You couldn't eat for days, you refused to talk to anyone when she left… Every night, when we came to see you, you would ask the same question."
"What? What question?" This was all too confusing. It was all to unreal for me to believe.
Seeing ghosts? Yeah. I can take that. Lived with them ma whole life.
Having a twin sister? Nah. I don't think so.
Mum's voice cracked horribly. I knew she was getting distressed. Personally, I don't like it when Mum gets upset. It makes me angry at whatever made her sad. And this time, it was this Sage chick. "You used to ask to us, every night, 'Where is Sage?' You didn't believe us when we said she was gone. So we eventually gave up."
Hey, I knew myself when I was five or so years old. I would have persisted in asking, when I told Mum this, she nodded. "You did. You kept asking. So we – we…"
I put my hands on her shoulders and interrupted her story to assure her, "You can tell me. I won't get angry or anything, Mum. See-" I smiled and paused before continuing. "-You can trust me."
Mum smiled, "Yeah. I know I can trust you, Suze. It's just, we did a horribly bad thing. You have to understand that we were in a lot of stress at the time."
"Go on," was all I said in reply.
"Well, we lied to you. Just to make you stop asking about her. We told you that she was your imaginary friend, all up in your mind. You went weird. Again, you didn't eat, talk to anybody and you locked yourself up in your room. You cried a lot as well. But then, just like that… you forgot about her."
Mum's worry lines when from hard to severe, "Then – then Daddy died and you went through it all again. The four stages, the therapists told us. Denial, Sadness, Anger, and then Apprehension."
I nodded, "So your telling me this now, why?" I didn't mean to be rude and although this was all round shocking for me to hear, I still wanted to know why Mum wanted to tell me about it now.
She sighed again, "Suzie. Sage is coming to Carmel tonight."
- Sage's POV, Friday Afternoon -
Bea came into my room at about four o' clock. I looked up at her and smiled before zipping up another one of my many bags and placing them next to my bed.
"How are you about this, Baby doll?" Bea was always the sympathetic one. That's what made me love her so much. I raced up to her, feeling kiddish, and gave her a huge hug.
"You know I'm fine with it, Bea." I shot her a wink. She nudged me and said, in a barely audible voice.
"Y'know, it would be more fun if you took Alejandro with you." She nudged me again, shooting another smile. I gave her a grin, laughed and then pretended to puke. This caused Bea to laugh along with me.
"I told… my parents in Carmel that it was only going to be me coming along." I sighed, I really was considering in taking Alej with me. It would bring some stress of my shoulders, if he was there, for sure.
Promptly after saying this, Alej stick his head through the threshold and grinned at us, white teeth sparkling. "Were you chicas talking about me?"
Bea smiled and I couldn't resist a giggle, "I dunno."
I turned to her, "Were we?"
Bea just turned back to Alej, who was pouting at me, "Awww… What did you say?"
Antonio appeared behind him, "Yeah, what did mean old Senorita Sage say about you, Alej? Your such a niño…" He hit him over the head, lightly, before leaving. We could hear his laughter in the hallway.
"I was just contemplating about your whereabouts tonight." I said, using large words on purpose. Alej looked confused. I grinned, I always knew he was a little dumber than me.
Okay, a lot. But yeah… I loved him anyway.
Bea left after that, smiling herself and laughing at the fact that Alej didn't have a huge vocabulary.
I rolled my eyes, "AKA. Are you coming to Carmel with me or not?" Alej's eyes widened. He looked at me with an eyebrow risen my way.
"Really? You mean it?" I nodded. Alej then did something I didn't really expect him to. He grabbed my shoulders and placed a kiss on my lips. I felt weird. My heart started to pump louder in my chest and I felt a flush come up on my cheeks.
Alej was all calm. He wrapped a hand around my waist after the moments of silence and moved in a Mambo beat. I grinned, forgetting what had happened moments ago and started to move with him. Eventually we fell onto my neatly made bed and I breathed out, exhausted after dancing with that intensity. Especially without any music.
I noticed that Alejandro's arm was around my neck. He pulled me in closer and whispered, "Sorry." Then he withdrew, leaving me to blink.
Shrugging casually, I smiled. "Yeah." I replied, brushing some of my hair out of my face, "I hated that." Alej had his own smile, that eyebrow rose again. Pfft.
"Really?"
I flushed, "No."
He kissed the top of my head, "Good." And then he sat up. "I need to go pack." Before disappearing. I stayed on my bed. Wondering about what just happened.
Gah, I thought, This is Alej. The same guy I went skydiving with, the same guy that hugged me when I cried about cramping up in the competitions, the same guy that told me, when we were twelve, that he had never had his first kiss and I told him I hadn't had mine either – and we decided to kiss just for an experiment. Then we raced into the bathroom and washed our mouth out with soap…
Could I really learn to love him in that special way?
I knew the answer. It came to me straight away. No doubt about it.
Yes.
But if I did, that would spell out disaster. Especially since I felt so confused right now. I sighed and buried my head in my pillow.
Would this trouble ever stop coming out to get me? I hoped that Carmel would be different – a new experience.
I sighed and lifted myself up and off my bed. Then I walked out into the dance hall, where Antonio was hanging up some lights and Bea was reading. I sighed. What was wrong with these people?
"Where's the music?" I asked. With a few more steps into the hall I realized that Alej was behind me. He walked in and stood next to me. "All packed," he whispered. I couldn't resist giggling and forgetting my thoughts of him moments before.
Bea stood. "Oh I guess we could dance to a few songs," then she looked at Antonio, who nodded back.
Alej took my hands. "Come on, Sage, lets dance – we're out of here!" He pushed me into a hug and spun me around, causing me to squeal. Then he let me back down as Bea grinned at us, putting on a song.
Jennifer Lopez – Aint It Funny.
Again we moved. A rumba in the slow parts and the Cha Cha Cha in the chorus. We were sure that they both wouldn't go together but personally, I think none of us cared.
A lot of arm styling was involved in the song, I found it really felt good when arm styling was involved. It made me feel like I was a professional in the World Open Dance Championships. Alej being my dance partner.
"Move those hips, Sage," Alej whispered to me when the chorus was on and we began doing the Cha Cha to the music. I arched back and then arose again, Alej still having a vice grip on my waist. I grabbed his upper arms and he held mine as I did as he commanded – my hips were swaying so fast that the mini-skirt I was wearing whipped my sides.
When the song ended, Antonio looked at the clock. It was 6 o' clock. Time sure went fast, "Lets go eat, Gang."
I slipped into some old vans, did my hair up into a cute style with my black french clip and secured my best suede jacket as we walked out of the studio to go get some food. I remembered the number on my plane ticket, still up in my room. My flight was scheduled for eleven thirty pm. I was fine with it. Being a dancer, we stayed up all night at times.
I sighed as we hit the footpath from walking down the stairs. My legs were vaguely sore. I just wish I had a professional massager with me. A foot rub sure would be nice.
Alej appeared beside me and took my hand in his. Bea held my other one and we walked down the streets, the four of us, all holding hands. It was fun doing that. We did it a lot.
But then why did my hand feel so hot in Alejandro's that night?
I forced that thought away and envisioned me dancing in the championships. Yet all my visions contained Alejandro. There was no way to escape him. So I did what I usually did, I thought of my favorite movie: 'Shall we Dance.'
Yet not even Jennifer Lopez and her great acting and singing could pry my mind away from Alej. I groaned in frustration but kept walking, and let my mind succumb to his wrath.
"Alej?" I asked as we neared our usual eating place. His head cocked to the side.
"Yeah, Whatsup?"
"Get out of my head." I didn't see his expression, I turned my head back to looking straight forward as we entered the Café – Take Away shop.
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HOLEY MOLEY! THIS CHAPTER WAS A HUGE ONE! (I really did yell that at home, I could give Steve Erwin in Australia a run for his money...)
I know! I know! You all want them to meet, and they will. I promised it would happen in this chapter but I didn't want to rush it… Hey, I can assure you. If I get motivated to write it after this whopper chapter, it will be huge. An amazement.
And you all know what motivates me the most, eh? – Yup, that's right. REVIEWS!
So, be a 'baby doll' like Bea says, and review for me…
As for the loyal readers who reviewed last chapter, here are my replies:
Ms. Nikki Slater – lmao. I do know. :) I made that to be funny… I feel sorry for Suze, Jesse called her skin blotchy.
Whitedestiny34 – Heh. I know the crying might be a little much but read the start of Shadowland and then the start of Darkest Hour, Suze has changed. And I know how she feels, my true love once yelled at me and I was in hysterics afterwards… lol. Thanks for the review. Was this update fast enough for ya!
swishalicious girlie – Lol. I understand why you would be pissed at Jesse… making Suze cry. I dunno why I put Maria in it, maybe to cause a little trouble. Along with Paul Slater, of course. It's just fun when you shove some enemies into a story :) The reason why Sage is with Alej and his family, eh? It will be revealed later. But for now, enjoy this new chappie.
Alexlily – Hehehehe… Seriously, it may be your fave subject and all, but having a dad for English isn't really fun. Especially when he does 'Pop Quizzes' :shudders: Like I mentioned in swishalicious girlie's acknowledgement, I put Maria in there to stir up some trouble… :evil laugh: I don't like when people add characters that are exactly like Jesse or Paul either. It just takes the lights off Meg's Characters.
Little Tinkerbell Girl – What evil fanfiction writer would I be if I didn't include more Jesse/Suze scenes? Poor Suze, Jesse has gone for a week. Her heart is broken. Lol. He'll come back, and then the plot will get hell-fluffy. Thanks for the review, by the way, I'm so happy people are telling me what they think :grins: With the Sage/Alej? To be really honest, I'm not really sure what I'm doing with them. If you read Sage's POV in this chapter, you'll see that her emotions are a little screwed. Unfortunately. Lol. Hope to see you again soon…
As for anyone else.
Review. Please.
Bluntly,
∞ Isa ∞
P.S. I'm feeling a little good. So I decided to include a Teaser for anyone who is still reading this. :grins: It's one of my favorite scenes I have thought up so far…
The music took control of me. As I moved, I felt Jesse move along in the beat of my song. He was situated behind me as my hips swung and my arms moved in their styling beat. A heavy Latin-Salsa-pop pulsation came over the still blowing trumpets.
We moved faster. I felt Jesse's hands on my hips as I spun and we took the next move into a small arc.
Black machine, Jazz machine
Black machine, Jazz machine
After the small interlude, I found Jesse and myself stepping across the length of Suze's room, together. Jesse sure wasn't kidding when he said he could Samba. My body enthused like a wave in water, so did Jesse's. His had found my cheek as we stepped right, right, right, then left.
After three minutes, the song came to an end. Jesse did the last little move, a spin and in a rapid motion of sweeping me to the ground before picking me up in the nick of time. I felt free.
But my good feelings came to an end as Jesse held me and finally, let go. I smiled at him, he smiled at me but then I made a horrible mistake.
"Your good," I said, "Really good."
I didn't notice my mistake until, from the threshold near the exit of the room, came a voice much like my own. "Sage?"
I turned. Suze stood there, hair still dyed black and a heartbroken look on her face.
Shit.